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source: https://qlik.dev/embed/foundational-knowledge/visualizations/treemap/
last_updated: 2023-12-12T15:15:01Z
---

# Treemaps

Treemaps display hierarchical data by using nested rectangles, that is, smaller
rectangles within a larger rectangle.

[image: treemap possession average]

Sorting is automatic according to size. By default, the coloring is by
dimension, with 12 colors, but that can be changed. When you have more than one
dimension, you can decide which dimension to color by.

If the data set contains negative values, a text message is shown stating that
the negative values cannot be displayed.

## Number of columns (dimensions and measures)

In a treemap you need at least one dimension and one measure, but to make full
use of the treemap it is preferable to have two or three dimensions. You can
only have one measure, but up to 15 dimensions. However, using more than three
dimensions is not recommended because the treemap may become unmanageable.

## Default settings for a treemap

Most native Qlik Sense chart types are automatically sorted on the dimension content:

- Numeric content is numerically sorted.
- Categorical content is alphabetically sorted.

## Display limitations

When displaying large amounts of data in a treemap, there may be cases when not
each dimension value within a rectangle is displayed with correct color and size.
These remaining values will instead be displayed as a gray, striped area. The
size and total value of the rectangle will still be correct, but not all
dimension values in the rectangle will be explicit.

To remove the gray areas, you can either make a selection or use dimension
limits in the properties.